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Abstract

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State-funded Muslim schools have since the 1980s emerged in Europe. In several countries, there among the Nordic ones, there has been considerable debate about these schools. In Norway, the only Muslim school closed down in 2004 after a couple of years, but at least two schools that have received permission to start in 2012. In Denmark, who has the longest tradition of Muslim schools among the Nordic countries, there has been considerable attention given to these schools and acquisitions of extremist teaching. In Sweden, the debate about these schools was very intense for a while. In recent years, since the National Agency of Education has intensified the control of all religious schools, the debate about Muslim schools has calmed down. In Finland, where Muslims have the right to Islamic Religious Education (IRE) in public schools, there are no Muslim schools. In this paper I describe and compare the establishment of Muslim schools in the Nordic countries. Since my own research concerns Muslim schools in Sweden and the content of Islamic religious education (IRE), there will be a special emphasis on the Swedish situation.